“. . . California won’t allow Marines to recruit in schools, but they’ll allow this kind of thing. It’s dangerous because it tells children that promiscuous, dangerous sex is supported by their government and their political authorities.”-- South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint

Students can visit the on-campus health clinic to get free birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling and screening for sexually transmitted diseases – the first program of its kind in the country, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Birth rates among teenagers are down throughout California and Los Angeles County, but certain areas within the county, like the heavily Latino and low-income neighborhood around Roosevelt High School, buck that trend.

Roosevelt High School started offering contraception and counseling in 1997, but in 2006, that support from a local hospital ended and the school could no longer provide free contraceptives.

Students are also trained as peer advocates to talk to their classmates about STDs and pregnancy prevention.

Nurse practitioner Sherry Medrano, who runs the Roosevelt health clinic, said teenagers rarely go outside their comfort zone for family planning. By law, students can go to Medrano and her staff without the permission of their parents. "They feel much safer and much more comfortable coming to a school-based health clinic," she said.

The 16-year-old student said she felt relieved to know that she could visit the clinic without telling her mother. "Just knowing you can come somewhere to get birth control just feels good," she said. 'It's a relief."

. . . California is one of about 20 states that still do not have any type of parental involvement law on abortion.

Leading pro-life groups, like the American Center for Law and Justice, have been concerned about Planned Parenthood qualifying for Obamacare funds to operate more of these clinics preying on teenagers. As Matthew Clark has written:

This pro-abortion law also opens the door to Planned Parenthood-run clinics in public middle schools and high schools, and specifically provides federal tax dollars to establish these clinics. ObamaCare provides grants for establishing “School-based Health Centers,” which could be run by abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood. While the law prevents these clinics from being used to “provide” abortions, it encourages groups like Planned Parenthood to make abortion referrals. The law’s stated purpose for these clinics is to provide “counseling” and “referrals,” which could include abortions and abortion related services.